12 Strong
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon, Michael Pena, Trevante Rhodes
Directed by: Nicolai Fuglsig
Rated: R
12 Strong follows a special forces team who must go to Afghanistan after the events of 9/11 and work with an Afghan warlord to take down the Taliban.
12 Strong seems like a pretty straightforward war film. We have a hero who promises his family he will make it home, a team who has to complete an almost impossible task in a short amount of time, and a ton of action sequences. However, there are grey areas in the film that make it intriguing. The soldiers have to go to battle on horses. Yeah, horses. It's shocking to me that in the 21st century with all of our technology we would still be using horses in the war, but it's happening. Not to mention, the Americans work alongside General Dostum (Navid Negahban), an Afghan warlord, on their journey. Is he trustworthy? Will he turn on them? This storyline shows the audience that not everything in war is a black and white concept.
A huge aspect of 12 Strong is the action. The film's action sequences feel extremely repetitive based on the shaky camera work and frequent explosions. There are sequences where you can’t even tell what’s going due to the camera work. It feels like watching a video game. Sure, it could be an artistic choice, but it's 2018 and Dunkirk was just released...it's safe to say audiences can expect great action sequences in war movies now.
The cast portraying the team includes a strong group of actors including Chris Hemsworth as Captain Mitch Nelson, Michael Shannon as Hal Spencer, Michael Pena as Sam, Trevante Rhodes as Ben, and Geoff Stults as Ben. Chris Hemsworth and Michael Shannon are the two most highlighted characters in the film with strong background stories. It would have been nice to see some of the other members of the team get a bit more development, but I understand it would have taken up too much time. Each actor gives a convincing performance and they work well together as a team. Side note- is Michael Shannon taking over Hollywood? He's in everything I see now.
In terms of the script, there are times where the dialogue is a bit cheesy. It’s safe to assume the real soldiers joked around with each other, right? The script writers probably wanted to recreate those moments to ease the dramatic tension in the film. The problem is these lines don’t feel organic. It feels as though they were written in for awkward comic relief.
12 Strong is an intriguing story about a brave group of heroes, but it’s quite messy in overall execution.
My Rating: 6/10